When should unexplained weight loss be taken seriously?
If you are losing weight without changing your diet or exercise, the cause needs finding. The sooner it is found, the sooner treatment can start.
Unexplained weight loss means you lose weight without changing your diet or exercise. A stressful event can be the reason, such as a divorce, losing a job or the death of someone close. Illness can also be the reason, or a mix of things.
Possible causes
- Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety
- Digestive problems, such as coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease
- Hormone conditions, such as an overactive thyroid and type 1 diabetes
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure
- Poor nutrition and loss of appetite
- Side effects of some medicines
Sometimes weight loss and loss of appetite are caused by cancer. That is why finding the cause matters, and the sooner it is found, the sooner treatment can start.
When should I come in?
Come in if you keep losing weight without changing your diet or exercise. If you have other symptoms too, do not put it off.
What happens at the visit?
Your doctor asks about your food, your mood and your health and may arrange tests or scans. To help, bring:
- Earlier weights, if you noted them
- Your medicine list
- Other symptoms, such as fever, a change in bowel habit or great thirst
Treatment depends on the cause, and sometimes a referral to a specialist is needed.